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Source: Myths and Tales of the
Southeastern Indians, By John R. Swanton, 1929
An Indian woman told how the Terrapin's eyes became red.
A beautiful Fawn met a Wolf one day who asked how he came to have such
pretty spots all over his body. "I got under a riddle (sieve) and they put
fire over it, and that made the pretty spots."
"Will you show me how I can do that_" asked the Wolf.
The Fawn consented. Then the Wolf obtained a large riddle, and lay down
under it and the Fawn built a fire and burned him to death.
After the flesh had decayed, the Fawn took the bones of the back and made
a necklace of them.
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One day the Fawn met a pack of Wolves, who said to him: "Where
did you
get that necklace_" but he refused to tell.
"What is the song we hear you singing as you gallop over the prairie_"
asked they. "If you will stand here till I get to the top of yonder hill I
will sing it for you."
Ya-ha ya-ha - wolf, wolf
Ef-oo-ne-tul - bones only
Chesarsook, chesarsook - rattle, rattle,
Chesarsook - rattle.
Kah-ke-tul - the ravens only
Methl-methl - fluttered, fluttered.
Soolee-tul - the buzzard only
Methl-methl - fluttered, fluttered.
Charnur-tul - The flies only
Sum-sum - buzzed, buzzed.
Choon-tah-tul - the worms only
Witter-took - wiggled
Witter-took - wiggled
Witter-took - wiggled.
When the Wolves heard this song they howled in anger and said: "We missed
our mate. He is dead and those are his bones. Let us kill his murderer."
They started for the Fawn, who, seeing them, sped away for life, the bones
rattling as he ran.
He came to a basket maker and begged him to place him under a basket, but
he refused. Then the Fawn came to a man who was getting bark to cover his
house.
"Oh, hide me from the Wolves," he begged, but the man would not.
He ran on and came to a Terrapin who was making a spoon.
"Tell me where to hide from the Wolves," said the Fawn. "No," replied the
Terrapin, "I must not take sides." However, the Fawn saw a stream just
ahead and on reaching it he jumped up and lodged in the fork of a tree and
could not extricate himself.
The Wolves passed the man who was making baskets and the man who was
getting bark to cover his house and came to the Terrapin, who told them
the way the Fawn had gone.
When the Wolves reached the stream they could trace the Fawn no farther.
They looked in the water and there saw him. They tried to go into the
water to catch the Fawn but failed. In sorrow they began to howl. As they
raised their heads in howling they saw the Fawn in the tree.
They held a council to see how they could get the Fawn out of the tree.
One Wolf said: "I know a man who can shoot him out"; so he sent for the
man. Then he went to the Terrapin and brought him, and the Terrapin said
he could kill him. He began to shoot arrows at the Fawn.
He shot every arrow away and missed the Fawn. Afterwards while walking
around the tree the Terrapin found one of his old arrows sticking in the
ground near an old log. "This was one of my best arrows," said he. So he
shot at the Fawn with this old arrow and killed him.
Then the Wolves took the body and divided it into pieces. "We must pay the
man for shooting him," one said, so they offered the Terrapin a piece of
one leg. But he had some complaint in his leg and the medicine men had
told him not to eat the leg of any animal.
He whined out: "I can not eat leg; it will make my leg hurt, and I shall
die."
When they offered him a shoulder he whined out: "I can not eat shoulder;
it will pain my shoulder, and I shall die."
"He does not want any." they said, and went away carrying all of the Fawn.
After they had gone the Terrapin looked around and saw that there was
blood on the leaves, so he gathered the bloody leaves into a big bundle,
saying: "I'll carry them home." He reached his house, threw down the
bundle, and said to his wife: "There, cook it for the children."
Then she unrolled the bundle but saw nothing. "Where is it_" she asked.
"Way inside," replied he, so she separated the leaves, but finding only
the blood, she threw it into his face. He called to the children to bring
him some water, but as they were slow, he crawled around with his eyes
closed and found the lye and washed his face in that.
Some of this got in his eyes and made them red, and ever since terrapins
have had red eyes.
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